After the opening fireworks display, the show opens with our WCW CEO, “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair coming down to the ring. Flair gets the crowd all pumped up with a big “WOOOOOO!” before welcoming everyone in the Rabobank Arena and everyone watching at home on pay-per-view to the tenth anniversary of WCW SuperBrawl! Flair talks about how he was in the main event of the very first SuperBrawl in 1991, getting his revenge and winning back a World championship. He says how fitting is it that ten years later, we will see someone else trying to get revenge and win back the WCW World championship right here at SuperBrawl: Revenge!

The sirens bring out the incumbant champion, “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner marching to the ring with Midajah carrying the title behind him. Steiner gets Flair’s microphone and gives him a piece of his mind.

“Yeah I guess that’d be a fitting, lovely story, Ric. But the problem is, in 1991, you were facing some out of shape, washed up Jappie who you shouldn’ta’ lost to in the first place. You winnin’ that belt back back then means NUH-THING to anyone in 2001, because now you’re just as outta’ shape and washed up as that guy was back then! Meanwhile, the champ isn’t some unfit piece of sake drinkin’ crap, it’s the ‘Big Bad Booty Daddy’ Scott Steiner. And the challenger is someone who shoulda never won the belt the first time, let alone two more times, he only held it because I was busy pumping up my peaks and pumping down my freaks! Booker T, that punk, flea ridden, two bitch piece’a crap better not even show up to the ‘rena tonight, because I’m gonna hit him, hurt him, throw him around, and then keep the belt around my sexy waist. I ain’t gonna need no Mark Johnson to keep the belt, I don’t need Ricky to keep the belt, all I need is the largest arms in the world to wrap around his neck and break him in half! And when I’m done with Booker T, I promise that I’ll still have enough stam’na left to show some of these ‘Bakersfield bitch freaks’ my own personal California Redwood!”

Out to rebut comes Booker T, the challenger tonight. At Flair’s urging, he stops at the top of the ramp, but he’s handed his own microphone.

“Scotty, I don’t care what you say, you been runnin’ scared of Booker T ever since Mayhem! Because I don’t fall for your crap about the largest arms in the world, I don’t fall for your crap about how dominant you are, because you ain’t shown to be nothin’ but a big mouthed, jacked up sucka! I would ignore you, but you got what I want; my WCW World championship. And when I win back my title that you stoled from me in November, I’m gonna be the four time, four time, four time, four times World’s Heavyweight champion, sucka! When you left layin’ on your back countin’ the lights of the Rabobank Arena and you look up to see me puttin’ that title back around my waist, whatever you do… don’t hate on the playa!”

Booker holds the microphone up as the crowd chants “hate the game!” for him, as Scott starts yelling at Booker off the microphone, telling him to come down to the ring. WCW security stand in front of Booker so he can’t go to the ring, but he mouths to Steiner that he’ll see him tonight in the main event! What a show it’s going to be tonight, fans; welcome to SuperBrawl: Revenge!

Rating: A* (97)
Eric’s Thoughts: This was a really good start to the show, as the crowd ate it up. It needed some better color commentary to hold up that end of the segment, but Scott definitely enjoyed getting to work off script and performed well on this night.

While a lot of matches featuring 2 Count have been comedy affairs, this time they were all business as they took on their former partners. There were bodies flying everywhere in this match, as they wowed the audience with some crazy maneuvers which most of them likely had never seen before. It was also a match given plenty of room to grow, so they could make it as best as they could. The end came down to Evan and Helms fighting in one corner while Shannon and Karagias traded punches in the other. 2 Count got the lead, but when they tried to whip their opponents into one another, Helms leap-frogged over Knoble and the two hit stereo dropkicks on the band mates! Helms set up Moore while Knoble hooked Karagias, and they were both planted with the Vertebreaker and Tombstone piledriver in the center of the ring, with both men covering their former partners while Charles delivered a stereo three count.

Match Time: 12:04
Rating: C-
Eric’s Thoughts: A solid high spot type of cruiserweight match to get the crowd really going. We didn’t need it to have the crowd hot, because they were still so hot after the opening segment, but it certainly helped to give them a pretty hot match right after. With this, we end this short feud and everyone can move on.

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“Mean” Gene Okerlund stands backstage in the interview area alongside the entire Natural Born Thrillers. Gene says that tonight is a huge night for these men, as the World Tag Team titles as well as the WCW Commissionership is on the line right here at SuperBrawl: Revenge! “Above Average” Mike Sanders tells Gene that he needs to stop worrying so much, because tomorrow will be the same as yesterday. He says that not only will his best men “go all Bob Barker” by spaying and neutering the Filthy Animals, but he himself has a “master plan” that will ensure victory when he skins “The Cat” and brings home the prize of Ms. Jones. With that, it’s time for our next match, so they leave, with Gene saying that he supposes if you’re going to be confident, why not be overconfident?

The Filthy Animals hip hop their way down to the ring, with Konnan rapping along with “Reason” as it plays in the background. When they enter the ring, Konnan goes into his opening spiel, asking where his dawgs are at and speaking on this with an “orale” and “arriba la raza”. He says that the Animals aren’t the biggest dogs in the fight but they’re gonna fight like dogs to get the titles around their waists, “So bring Big and Ugly on out here to see what happens when you mess with familia! Orale!”

Konnan leaves the ringside area at Charles Robinson’s behest, which Scott Hudson wonders if that wasn’t a Mike Sanders ruling, but Mike Tenay says that it’s only fair since the Thrillers don’t have anyone at ringside, while the Animals still have Tygress out there. Kidman starts the match with Palumbo, and the two trade a few hammerlocks, reversals, and headlocks before Billy hits a slick dropkick that puts Chuck in his corner. O’Haire comes into the ring, but Kidman outmaneuvers him as well for a few moments, leaving him on the ropes with a dropkick into the ribs. Mysterio enters the ring, and he avoids danger at all costs with his small stature and quickness. The Animals seem to be on top of things with some double teaming on Palumbo, but they kip up after a double elbow drop right into a double clothesline from O’Haire! From there, they single out Mysterio, specifically his historically bad knees. Kidman tries to interject himself, but he keeps getting pushed back out of the ring by Charles. Mysterio and his never-say-die attitude keep the Animals in this match though, and he eventually slips out of Sean’s grasp and quickly springboards into a dropkick that puts the big man down and out of the ring! That gives Rey ample time to make the tag, bringing Kidman into the ring. He runs through Palumbo and keeps O’Haire out of the ring. Kidman turns back into a kick in the midsection, but Chuck messes up when he tries to powerbomb Kidman. I guess he didn’t pay attention to every Kidman match since 1998, because you just can’t powerbomb Kidman! A face buster gets a two count, as Shawn Stasiak heads down to the ring. Stasiak slips into the ring behind Charles Robinson and runs right through him, before attacking Kidman. Mysterio springboards up and hits a dropkick on Stasiak, sending him out of the ring, but O’Haire comes back in and grasps up Mysterio, hitting him with a fireman’s carry DDT! Sean goes to the top rope, and he leaps for the Seanton Bomb – but Stasiak tries to climb back into the ring, and he inadvertantly shakes the ropes, causing O’Haire to crotch himself on the top rope! Mysterio knocks Stasiak away from the ropes, and he quickly hits a springboard frankensteiner on O’Haire! Kidman knocks Palumbo and Stasiak out with a springboard Shooting Star Press from the ring to the floor as Mysterio goes for the cover – and Charles Robinson calls for the bell!

There’s a bit of confusion, but it’s quickly solved as the announcement is made that Charles has disqualified the Thrillers! The Filthy Animals won the match, and they should have gotten the pin – but thanks to Shawn Stasiak, they won’t be taking home the titles! Tenay says that there should definitely be another shot for the Animals after this night, but Tony points out that it depends on who wins the commissionership later in the evening.

Match Time: 9:02
Rating: C / C+ / C+ (match)
Eric’s Thoughts: Definitely a good night for Konnan on the mic, he had the crowd in the palm of his hand just like he used to in the Wolfpac. I told these guys to just do what they could to steal the show, knowing that is how Rey likes it. It also was a test for the Thrillers to see how they would deal with it, and I’d say they held up their end of the bargain, and the match left the crowd buzzing. Kidman was really off his game though, and Tygress did good work. It was kind of a Dusty finish, but not exactly; this should really build the future dynamic.

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“Mean” Gene is in the interview area again alongside Totally Buff, Animal, and Madusa. Gene talks to Madusa, asking her if he could get her to invite him along to the celebration party that it seems Totally Buff are planning when Animal retires Goldberg, but she looks at him with disgust. Bagwell says that everyone will be invited to Goldberg’s retirement party except for two people – those two big, bloated buffoons Adams and Clarke! Luger talks about how Kronik have thought that Totally Buff were afraid of them, but they are afraid of nothing! It doesn’t matter how big they are, “The Total Package” and “Buff Daddy” are bigger, meaner, and have more experience, and so they’re going to introduce Kronik to something they should get used to: the ‘losers’ column! Animal closes the promo by saying that there have been a lot of big, musclebound, unstoppable beasts in pro wrestling’s history, but when he’s done tonight, the only one that’ll go down in history will remain the Road Warriors, because Goldberg is finished, by his hands!

Totally Buff start the match by stalling, using veteran ring positioning to their advantage. Mike does briefly point out that actually the guy who’s been wrestling the shortest time in the match is Buff, but he glosses back over it by saying that Bagwell and Luger definitely have more “big match” experience compared to Adams and Clarke. “Buff Daddy” poses for the crowd, but while they boo him, they cheer loudly when Clarke flexes his muscles back at him! Adams gets caught in the wrong corner of the ring when he misses a charge into the turnbuckle and gets his bell rung by a clothesline from Lex. He gets the hot tag to Clarke though, who runs through both of Totally Buff with clotheslines and powerslams! But when he goes to the top rope, Madusa grabs his leg, leaving him wide open for Luger to grab him by the hair and slam his head into the ringpost itself! Clarke’s head is completely woozy as “The Total Package” shows his strength by lifting Clarke over the top rope and pull him into the Torture Rack. Clarke is unresponsive, so Billy Silverman ends up having to call for the bell.

Match Time: 6:43
Ratings: B- / C+
Eric’s Thoughts: Everyone from Madusa to the announce team did a great job in this match. Kronik had some great team chemistry on display. The only weak point was Marcus, who seemed to be off his mark just a little. I had told them to calm the crowd down, and they succeeded at that, but not in a way that bored them. All in all, mission accomplished here.

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The Harris Boys follow “The Chosen One” to the ring for their upcoming six man tag team match, but Jeff takes a microphone first. He talks about how ever since he gave up the US title and moved up to the World championship back in April, that belt “has gone from one slapnut to the next” and he feels it’s time to change that. He says that not if, but when Hugh gives him a title shot, that belt is coming back to a place it never should’ve left: the waist of “The Chosen One”!

But General Rection and the Misfits in Action have something to say about this! Hugh has a microphone of his own, and he tells Jarrett that while he’s been in the main events fighting – and losing – to guys like Sid, Booker T, Sting, and playing second fiddle to Scott Steiner, he has been making this championship, this crowd, and this country proud of him by defending this belt against all challengers! The General says that tonight, they will find out just how “chosen” Jarrett really is, because while he’s been out of the US title picture, it’s become the land of Misfits!

Scott James has his work cut out for him trying to control this match, as it begins with everyone in the ring throwing wild fists! The MIA force their opponents out of the ring and celebrate the small victory. But when Chavo pulls Hugh’s attention to talk to him and show off for the crowd, Big Ron and Heavy D pull Corporal Cajun out of the ring behind Scott’s back and they hurl him into the ring barricade! Jarrett re-enters the ring along with Lash, and he takes full advantage of the damage done by his bodyguards as Morrus chews out Guerrero on the ring apron. Cajun suffers quite a bit through this match, and each time he tried to tag out, “Lieutenant Loco” would always seem to be unavailable. General Rection finally tags in, and he runs wild on Ron and Don along with LeRoux, but Jarrett slips a low blow in on the US champion, taking control of the match all over again while Scott James was chasing Chavo out of the ring! Lash and Chavo exchange glances on the apron but Hugh is getting practically triple teamed. The Harris Boys take out LeRoux before he can tag back into the match, and it looks as though Chavo is finally going to get tagged into the match! He looks around at the crowd, getting them behind him… and then drops off the apron! Chavo throws his MIA shirt to the wind as he walks backstage, leaving his partners high and dry. Morrus falls prey to the H-Bomb and Jarrett humiliatingly pins him with one finger, cementing himself as a United States championship contender once again.

Match Time: 14:07
Ratings: C- / D+
Eric’s Thoughts: Fans saw Chavo “turning” (he was already a heel) coming a mile away, so the match was held down slightly because it was almost written in stone that he wasn’t on the level with his partners. Lash was really off his game, but the announcing really helped sell the match. Jarrett’s great performance really stood out, probably showing off because he knew he was winning this one.

This was your pretty generic hardcore match brawl where they used varying weapons that they picked up throughout the building, used in conjunction with some of the signature moves leading to near falls. You pretty much can picture the whole match just based on that. In the end, Daffney pulls out a rubber chicken and hits Vito with it, before revealing that inside the chicken was one of the Mamalukes’s own stickball bats. Douglas picks him up and hits the Franchiser for the win and retaining his title.

Match Time: 4:12
Rating: D+
Eric’s Thoughts: I thought that the crowd was going to be hotter at this point, so cooling them off with a weak hardcore tag match wasn’t a good move. Definitely not my fault. Vito was off his game here, whiffing on a bunch of his weapons hits. Announcing was amusing at least.

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We go from there to another big time matchup, the six man tag team tables match. But first, we see a video recap starting from the night after Sin when Team Canada decided to attack the Insiders during their World Tag Team championship rematch. The Insiders fired back by bringing back “The Prodigal Son” Dustin Rhodes to even the odds, and the two teams have been brawling both in and out of the ring since. Tonight, we see which team is the better in a tables match!

Before the Insiders come to the ring, Lance Storm gets a microphone and talks about how California isn’t even land that Canada’s cool breezes find it fit to flow through. He tells WCW production crew to play the Canadian national anthem, but before it starts going…

The Insiders come out with their own microphone, Kevin Nash saying that “Big Sexy is in the house!” Rhodes and Page give generic threats about getting revenge tonight at SuperBrawl: Revenge for being put through tables, and when they charge the ring, the match is on!

Tony points out the rules for this match, as it is tornado style with no tags, and it is elimination style, so all three members of a team have to be put through tables for the victory. So this is a pretty big brawl to start, as all six men open up on one another. Skipper uses his quickness to evade Dallas while Dustin fights with Storm. That leaves Kevin Nash to throw big punches with Mike Awesome, as commentary talk about how this could very easily come down to three men on one side and only one on the other. Dustin is sent out of the ring hard, and that gives Storm and Skipper a chance to double team Page for a few minutes. “Big Sexy” hits Elix with the snake eyes, dazing him, before firing him out of the ring and nearly through a table. Awesome and Storm go at it with the Insiders, but Nash and Page get the better of that and DDP hits Mike with the Diamond Cutter to take him out of the equation! That gives Nash a chance to hit Storm with knees and framed elbows in the corner. On the outside, Dustin has set up a few tables, and he slides one into the ring. Dustin tries to hip toss Elix through the table, but Skipper flips to his feet and hits a dropkick to cause separation. The first man out of the match ends up being Skipper though, as Nash catches him coming from a plancha and drills him to the mat with a powerslam, before picking him up and dropping him with the Jackknife through a table!

With the odds three-to-two, Team Canada need to rally back, and fast. With Skipper being escorted away from the ring, Storm and Awesome are on their own. “The Prodigal Son” and the Insiders push their advantage, but a slip up between Nash and Page leads to Dallas getting hit with Kevin’s big boot and then Dustin takes a ride in the Awesome Bomb through a table! It’s an even matchup now, but one of these teams are former World Tag Team champions while the other has only teamed together a few times. That type of tag team symmetry cannot be discounted, and the Insiders bounce in with Nash fighting off Lance and obliterating him with a one armed chokeslam when Storm was coming off the ropes at him. Mike Awesome backs down from no men, and he hurls Page out of the ring. He charges the opposite side of the ring and comes back, leaping over the top rope to hit a no touch suicide dive over the top rope onto DDP! “The Canadian Career Killer” feels Page is done as he goes after Nash, and the two big men go at it with forearms and punches. The former nWo founder dodges a clothesline before delivering a pointed elbow to the chin of Awesome. Awesome fights back tooth and nail though, hitting Nash with a leaping clothesline off the second rope. Mike goes up to the top rope, but DDP catches him there, and he pulls Awesome to the floor and through a table with a Diamond Cutter! It’s the former Tag Team champions against only Lance Storm!

But Lance Storm has his own pride, and he refuses to back down. He gets his wits about him and takes Nash down with a basement dropkick to the big man’s knees. Storm then goes after DDP, hitting a spinning kick and then going back to stomp Nash’s leg. Mike Tenay talks about how Storm is using his own divide-and-conquer style at this moment, keeping Nash at bay while attacking Page. That only works until Kevin shoves Storm away, and DDP hits the discus clothesline on him! Dallas takes time to set a table up in the center of the ring, and he looks poised to send Storm through it. He looks to do another Diamond Cutter from the ropes, but Storm holds on, shoving Dallas off and through the table! It’s down to Lance Storm and Kevin Nash, who Storm has already weakened. Lance kicks the fallen Kevin a few more times while Page is being escorted away, and he does more work to Nash’s knees, Tony calling that it’s a smart move that could eliminate the possibility of another Jackknife powerbomb. Kevin comes back with a vengeance though, catching Storm coming off the ropes and drilling him to the mat with a sidewalk slam! Nash puts Storm over the middle rope and hobbles to the other side of the ring for momentum, coming back and dropping his weight down across Storm’s back and neck – or he would, but Storm moved, and Lance again dropkicks Nash right in the knee as he was hung up in the ropes! Lance hooks in the Canadian Maple Leaf, but there are no submissions; he has to release the hold. When he does, he gets two tables and sets them up in the ring. Nash fights back when Storm has the tables set next to one another, and he tries to set up for the Jackknife, but the knee buckles and he winces in pain. Storm gets a chair and hits Nash with it, then hits a superkick that lays Nash over the tables. Lance heads to the top rope, but “Big Sexy” is up, and he catches him! Nash hurls Storm off the top, and he goes through both tables! This match is over!

Match Time: 17:15
Ratings: C- / B- / C+
Eric’s Thoughts: Major Gunns helped make Storm look good during the pre-match promo. The match itself was a good long match that saw a lot of twists and turns. I kept Storm strong here, so even in defeat he would come out of it looking like he belongs; which he does. The announcing helped sell the match really well, and the six got the crowd buzzing. Lance and Dustin did a good job at slow building the match. The only low point was Elix; he was really off his game, and as a fast paced wrestler, he struggled trying to build the match. All things we will work on in the future.

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Tony is told that there is a bit of a commotion going on backstage, and cameras catch the Natural Born Thrillers looking to be at one another’s throats! Sean O’Haire is incensed at Shawn Stasiak, who very nearly cost them the championships earlier tonight. The other Thrillers are holding him apart from Shawn, with Sanders finally telling O’Haire to go cool down, get a shower, and then watch him beat “The Cat” to keep the commissioner powers safely in their camp. O’Haire isn’t very pleased, he was out for blood, but he begrudgingly listens, leaving the scene.

Rating: B-
Eric’s Thoughts: It’s time we pulled the trigger on this angle, and we put these guys in the positions that they deserve.

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Up next is going to be another of our main events, this being the Chain match. We go back to Sin where Animal turned on Goldberg, and then sound bites of him explaining why he did so. It shows Totally Buff and Animal destroying one of Goldberg’s motorcycles, with Animal calling Goldberg a “Road Warrior wannabe”. Goldberg, meanwhile, says that he is saving victory number forty in his new streak for tonight over Animal! Who will come out on top in this brutal match up?!

“Da Man” makes his grand entrance first, popping the crowd by standing in his fireworks. He makes his way to the ring, just as intense as ever, as he looks ahead to the fight ahead of him.

But whereas most opponents will get psyched out by that, Animal is not so easy to intimidate! He comes riding down to the ring on his Harley motorcycle, his black shoulder pads reflecting off the fireworks going off for him. Madusa is riding on the back of the bike and they get off the seat never taking their eyes off of Goldberg. Animal was trying to intimidate Goldberg, but it looks like it didn’t work on either man!

Both men are chained together at the wrist with a heavy biker chain. It doesn’t come into play very uniquely though, as they tend to just use it to whip one another now and then. This match is mostly just two big bulls rushing and hitting each other. It is the most generic power match that they will put on. Madusa gets involved once by pulling on the chain to distract Goldberg, but he pulls her right back with it, which takes her out of the picture when she slams into the ring apron! Animal nearly gets the pin with a big powerslam, but it’s not enough to keep Goldberg down. Animal runs the ropes, as so does Goldberg. Goldberg ducks a clothesline and hits the ropes again, before hitting the Spear! Goldberg then lifts Animal off the mat to plant him with the Jackhammer, and he goes up to 40-0 over Animal!

The bell has barely sounded until Totally Buff rush out and hit the ring! Luger and Bagwell grab the discarded chain and start using it to beat on Goldberg. But Goldberg runs through a clothesline attempt and makes them run together! Animal attacks from behind, and Goldberg nearly fights off all three of them, but “The Total Package” chopblocks the leg, and from there it becomes a three on one beating. Kronik rush out, still hurting about the way the match went earlier, but they are unable to stop the beatdown as Animal wraps the chain around his fist and starts punching both of them! Goldberg and Kronik are all left down on the mat as Totally Buff and Animal stand over them tonight! Tony Schiavone states the obvious that this situation is definitely far from over!

Match Time: 8:52
Rating: B- / B- / B / B- / B+
Eric’s Thoughts: All the hype, from the video to the entrances, were kept a little short so that the fans could stay focused. Neither guy was selling very much, but man did the crowd get so hot during that match. Animal was really off though, stumbling through a few of the sequences. Madusa did some good work at least. During the attack, Goldberg looked like a real star by almost fighting off all three men. The announcing lifted the segment, but Buff seemed very underwhelming as he just stood and posed for most of it. Probably should have milked it a little longer though.

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A hype video plays to give the crowd a bit of a breather, this one for our next match of “The Cat” Ernest Miller against “Above Average” Mike Sanders. It shows Sanders abusing his power as commissioner to help his friends and harm his enemies, until the previous commissioner, Miller, starts challenging him for it. Sanders seems to have caught an eye for Ms. Jones though, and so now we have a match where the commissionership is on the line against the “services” of Ms. Jones!

“Above Average” gets a microphone before the match, running down The Cat by calling him a “dancing fool” who wouldn’t know how to run a company to the top if they gave him a steering wheel and a map!

“So with that in mind, we are going to require a free thinking, free spirited, straight shooting official who won’t hold grudges or play favorites. And so I give you… Mark Johnson!”

Much to the complaint of commentary, out of the back walks Mark Johnson! Tony, Mike, and Scott talk about how Johnson seems obviously to be on Sanders’s side, and he is definitely out here to keep Mike as the commissioner of WCW.

The Cat is on the defense right off the bat as Sanders attacks him as he gets into the ring, which is ignored by Johnson. Ms. Jones pounds on the mat in hopes that Miller will fight back, but he has problems doing so. He dances back to his feet despite all Mike is doing against him, and uses some dancing and martial arts kicks together in tandem to bring it to his favor, but Mark Johnson won’t count for him! Finally Ms. Jones has had enough and she enters the ring, and – as commentary call it – she kicks Johnson in the johnson! She reveals her own referee’s shirt, gives Ernest Miller the red shoe, and he hits Sanders with the Feliner! Ms. Jones grabs Mark Johnson’s hand and forces him to count the three, and we have a new WCW Commissioner!

Sanders leaves the ring, disgusted and calling to the back asking where everyone was. Ernest Miller takes the microphone and thanks the fans and, most of all, Ms. Jones, for always supporting him. He says that he is going to be a fair commissioner once again, and give WCW a much more fan-friendly atmosphere. He says that means no more crooked referees, telling Mark Johnson that he has a surprise for him. As the new commissioner of WCW, he is revoking the paperwork that Johnson filed earlier this month!

Sid Vicious comes down to the ring! He chases Johnson around the ring, but Mark cannot get away, and finally Vicious goozles him. He sets Mark Johnson up, and finally Sid gets his own revenge on Johnson by delivering a huge Powerbomb! “The Cat” and Ms. Jones dance around the crumpled body of Johnson as Sid celebrates.

Match Time: 4:55
Ratings: D / C+ / C-
Eric’s Thoughts: Sanders really worked the crowd up in his pre-match promo, he has a great grasp with the audience on the microphone. Ms. Jones did good work at ringside, and it turned out Miller and Sanders showed some great chemistry against one another. Commentary chemistry played against itself as Tony and Mike repeated several of the same points, but Mike and Scott gelled perfectly. We did this as a comedy match, and it gave the crowd a nice breather between the two main event matches. In the post-match, Johnson didn’t come out of it well as he looked like he almost took the powerbomb wrong, but man did Sid come out of it looking like a monster.

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It is time for our main event, and we go to a video detailing the feud between current World Heavyweight champion “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner and the former champion, Booker T. It shows their match at Mayhem 2000 where Steiner won the championship from Booker. Booker disappeared for some time after that, but Booker came back the night after Sin. Since then, Booker and Steiner have been at one another’s throats, even with both men beating up the brothers, both Stevie Ray and Rick Steiner. Tonight, we see the rematch that has been four months in the making!

Booker T is backstage pacing around his locker room, waiting for his cue. He gets a surprise visitor though, as Stevie Ray steps in. Stevie tells his brother that he’s here to watch Booker win the World title for a fourth time, and the whole family is back home watching on pay-per-view because they know Booker can take “that punk ass, fruity booty boy” down and take back what belongs to him. Booker gives his brother a handshake and hug, telling him that if he’s breathing, he’ll be fighting, just like always. A knock comes to the door, and Booker leaves the room. Time for our main event!

The match opens with the two slamming one another with heavy right hands, after they talked trash right as the bell rang. Nick Patrick tries to restore some order, but that doesn’t happen until Booker finally gets the better of the situation by ducking a big haymaker and clotheslining Steiner over the top rope! Tony takes a moment to point out that a few years ago, that could have caused a disqualification, but this isn’t the old WCW anymore, this is a new millennium, and it should be the greatest time in the history of our sport. Scott slows things down with a lock up and headlock, but Booker is what Mike calls “explosive” and he fires the champion off to the ropes and hits a leaping sidekick that gets him a surprisingly early near fall! “Big Poppa Pump” decides that perhaps discretion is the better part of valor, and he slows things down even further by stalling outside the ring, trying to cause Booker to get angered and make a mistake. That mistake comes when the challenger gets distracted by the presence of Midajah on the ring steps, and that’s when Scott slides into the ring and clubs him in the back, sending Booker crashing into the turnbuckles. A dazed Booker inadvertently backs right up into a release belly to back suplex, and Scott takes over.

The champion relishes every moment that he is in control, punishing Booker with reverse chinlocks, big clubbing forearms and stomps, and loads of verbal taunting. The challenger does his best to fight back up from under Scott’s massive frame, but anytime he does, Steiner tends to take advantage again with the use of his power, his suplexes, the ropes, and Midajah. Midajah at one point outright grabs Booker’s leg as he was hitting the ropes, which leads to a big Steinerline from Scott that nearly takes Booker’s head off! He then grabs Booker and delivers a big belly to belly suplex that nearly drops Booker right on his neck! Steiner only gets a two count, but the damage has been done. Hudson wonders if perhaps it was not a good idea by our CEO Ric Flair to have kept Booker out of the ring for the extra month that he did, as perhaps he has a little more ring rust because of it.

The ring rust argument seems to have some real merit, as Steiner moves to the back of Booker T, punishing it as he works up to the Steiner Recliner. Booker moves with caution, in some real pain as he refuses to give in to his enemy. The three time former World champion suffers from more of Scott’s verbal and physical abuse as Steiner drops him with a big gorilla press slam before doing push-ups in the ring. When he finally covers, Booker kicks out at an easy one-and-a-half count, but this time he starts fighting back. He hits Steiner in the midsection as Scott as pulling him up, firing into the chiseled ribs of Steiner with all the force he can muster. Booker begins to get to his feet for what feels like the first time in about ten minutes, and he rallies the fans behind him with a series of rights and lefts before delivering a Harlem Sidekick that puts Steiner on the mat! Booker goes for a quick cover, but Steiner is still too strong, as he muscles Booker off his shoulders fairly easily. The challenger stays on the attack, hitting the ropes and delivering a knee drop right to Steiner’s forehead. Booker tries to follow up, but Steiner slips a low blow behind Nick Patrick’s back, before body slamming Booker back to the mat. But when Steiner takes a moment to flex his muscles towards the crowd, Booker does the spinaroonie! He’s back on his feet, and he hits a big leaping kick that puts Scott on the mat hard! The crowd are all behind him as Booker climbs the turnbuckles, Hudson saying that he must be going all in to try for the Harlem Hangover! Booker looks confident, but Midajah again gets on the ring apron. He kicks her away though, but Steiner looks like he’s beginning to get to his feet. The challenger notices this, and he changes his tactic up, leaping off the top to hit a missile dropkick! Booker goes for the cover, but again only a two count! The challenger stomps on Steiner’s chest, and goes back to the turnbuckles again. This time, Midajah does the trick, as Scott gets back to his feet while she’s distracting Booker, and he shakes the ropes to cause Booker to drop crotch-first onto the top turnbuckle! “Big Poppa Pump” wastes little time, going up the turnbuckle and shocking everyone by performing a Frankensteiner! It takes Steiner a moment to recover his wind, but he makes the cover, “This has to be over!” shouts Tony!

1!

2!

No!
Booker’s left shoulder pops out of Steiner’s grasp as Nick’s hand was coming down to the mat! Mike is shocked that Booker got out of that one, especially following all the punishment that he’s gone through in this bout. Steiner tries to follow up, but he meets some lively resistance as Booker is digging deep to pull out all he has left. A strong powerslam puts an end to that though, and Booker is pulled into the Steiner Recliner! Scott puts all the pressure he has into the hold, as Booker screams in pain! The constant taunts from “Big Poppa Pump” continue, as he keeps telling Nick Patrick that Booker is done, he’s giving up soon, keep asking him, even calling Booker a punk who can’t get it done. Booker continues to say no anytime Patrick asks him though, and finally he has enough. Booker starts climbing to his feet, and he lifts Steiner up on his back, before slamming him back into the turnbuckles! That causes a break, and once Booker gets some wind back, he rushes the ropes. Steiner is ready for him, but Booker is more ready as he ducks a clothesline, but he stops running. When Scott turns around, he’s met by a boot to the midsection, and THE BOOK END! Booker nailed the Book End, and this one should be over!

But Booker is unable to cover right away, he’s too winded! The crowd cheers his name as Midajah slams her hands on the ring apron to try and get Steiner back up. Booker finally rolls over and puts his arm across Steiner’s chest!

1!

2!

3!NO! Steiner kicked out just as the hand was coming down! This would be over if Booker had been able to cover sooner!

The announcers even seem exhausted by this point as Nick Patrick begins to give the two a ten count to see if either of them are completely out. By the time he gets up to six, both are starting to stir, and at eight they are back on their feet on opposite sides of the ring. But it becomes very apparent that Midajah has slipped Scott his lead pipe, and she climbs on the apron to distract Nick Patrick. With Patrick out of the way, Steiner swings the pipe, trying to take Booker’s head off – but Booker ducks, and he takes the weapon away, nailing Steiner with it himself! He throws the pipe out of the ring as Midajah slinks back to the floor in horror, and Booker falls into the cover right away!

1!

2!

3-SHOULDER UP!
This match has gone on for so long now that both men are still on the mat yet again. Booker comes back up to his feet, looking to capitalize while Steiner is still down. Booker sees Steiner rolling onto his stomach, and he takes an inspired idea – and he locks the Steiner Recliner on Scott! “Big Poppa Pump” is getting a taste of his own medicine now, as Tony starts listing off the people who Scott claims he put out with this hold and saying that Steiner himself could be the next man on the list!

Steiner muscles out actually pretty quickly though, getting to his feet and then delivering a belly to back suplex that puts Booker on the mat again. But the two are back on their feet sooner than before, as Hudson talks about the adrenaline pumping through each man. They throw much weaker punches at one another than they were at the start of this match, but they are just as devastating because of how tired and worn out they are. Steiner gets the better of it, hitting a bodyslam and staying on top for a two count. He goes for another cover right after, and gets another two count. When Steiner stands up and yells at Nick Patrick about it, Booker rolls him up from behind – another two count! Scott rushes in, angry now, but Booker hooks a small package – another two count! Steiner is looking tired from kicking out, but he charges – and when Booker ducks, Steiner hits the ropes and knocks Midajah down to the floor! A stunned champion turns around, and right into the Book End! The Book End is hit, and this time Booker is able to cover right away!

1!

2!

*di3ng ding ding*!

It’s over! It’s over! We have a new……………….

No! Nick Patrick is informed that the time limit expired! Scott Steiner is still the WCW World Heavyweight champion, and Booker T looks physically sick to his stomach! “The Big Bad Booty Daddy” steps over Midajah as he goes to the timekeeper to get his belt, and he shows it off to Booker from the outside of the ring. Booker starts asking Nick Patrick about it, but he looks completely apologetic about it, there’s nothing he can do.

Suddenly, Scott Steiner attacks Booker from behind! He lays into Booker with kicks and forearms, before sending Booker to the ropes. But Booker ducks the clothesline, kicking Steiner in the midsection and hitting him with a scissors kick! Booker grabs the World’s Heavyweight title and holds it above his head to big cheers from the crowd, but it’s all for naught because despite how close he came… it isn’t his.

Match Time: 45:00
Ratings: B / B- / B (match) / B-
Eric’s Thoughts: I’ll have more to talk about once I’ve caught my breath, but I did notice that during the match, Scott really was off his game. He helped pull it together though, building the long match very well. It deserved to have better color commentary overall. The crowd are left buzzing after the match is over. The post-match attack and confusion seemed a little rushed, but we have more post-match wrap-up to go.

Quote:

“Mean” Gene is back with “The Nature Boy” and “The Enforcer” who are all in awe at how that title match went. Okerlund asks Flair about the bout, with Ric saying that he and Arn have had their share of 45, 50, and 60 minute matches in their career, and it messes with your head just like it’s going to mess with both Scott and Booker’s heads about whether they could have won with five more minutes or not, whether Scott would have kicked out at that last second or not. Gene prods for any news from the CEO about Booker getting another shot, perhaps next month at WCW Greed, but Flair says that he will have to think about it and will let everyone know tomorrow night on Nitro.

We cut back to the commentary desk, where Tony, Mike, and Scott discuss the future of WCW from here. They don’t know what’s going on with the World championship now, as it appears Ric Flair doesn’t really know any answers either. Tony sends us back to Gene again, who is now with our – we suppose – current reigning WCW champion.

“Big Poppa Pump” is in a screaming fit backstage, with Gene appearing a little timid as Steiner’s rampage could explode at any moment. Scott screams that he wasn’t beaten, he wasn’t pinned because the time limit ran out, but he would have kicked out and beat the crap out of Booker with thirty more seconds! Steiner tells everyone that this title isn’t going anywhere, Booker got his shot now, so he can go to the back of the line with the rest of the garbage! He isn’t giving any rematch to Booker, and if they try to make him, he’ll rip Flair’s head off!

Tony, Mike, and Scott are shocked by those words, as it appears Scott doesn’t want to give Booker another chance. They debate whether or not Steiner would have kicked out of the Book End, but it’s all speculation. Schiavone thanks the cable companies for sticking with us past our allotted time for this post-match wrap-up, but that in regards to our fans, they deserve to hear from both Scott Steiner and Booker T after that incredible match that may have just changed our entire sport of professional wrestling. They send it to Gene one final time for the night, who is with Booker T.

Booker T is an emotional wreck, as he’s standing backstage with Stevie Ray. Okerlund asks him some questions, but Booker isn’t answering well as he wracks his brain, going back over the match. He finally snaps to, telling Gene that the belt was as good as his, one more second and he’d have been the champion yet again. Gene gives Booker the news that Steiner has said there will be no rematch, but Booker says that he and the fans will call, write, and petition WCW officials and CEO Ric Flair until he does the right thing and gives Booker the rematch he deserves. Dustin Rhodes, Diamond Dallas Page, and Billy Kidman stop by the scene to offer their sympathies to Booker on this heartbreaking evening as Gene, on behalf of Tony, Mike, Scott, and all of WCW, says goodnight to all our fans who stayed with us!

Ratings: B- / C / B / C / B
Eric’s Thoughts: Gene improvised really well to close the show each time he had to, but had worn out by the interviews with Steiner and Booker. I guess it was past his bedtime by then. Steiner improvised well and came across great as a monstrous heel champion. Booker’s raw emotion really got the crowd hotter, and closed the show beautifully.